Is The U.S. Prepared For The Next Terror Attack?

Thursday, May 18, 2006

By Wolf Blitzer, CNN's Situation Room

December 5, 2005

Five failing grades, and a dozen D's, one A minus. The Bush administration and the U.S. Congress getting a miserable report card from the former members of the 9/11 Commission. The bipartisan panel calls some of the failures scandalous, says America remains all to vulnerable to new terror attacks.

This comes as the government defends its no longer quite so secret extradition of terror suspects.

Our Brian Todd standing by to look at the practice that is called rendition. But let's first turn to our national security correspondent, David Ensor, with this 9/11 report card -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this was not good news for either the administration or Congress. Very, very dim grades from the former commission. And this was their last press conference.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice over): In a final salvo, the former 9/11 Commission gave the U.S. government dismal grades on efforts to make the country safer in the last four years.

TIM ROEMER (D), FMR. 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: If my children were to receive this report card, they would have to repeat a grade. We can't afford to repeat the lessons of 9/11 and the losses of 9/11.

ENSOR: On the report card, the government got an F for congressional failure to mandate radio channels for first responders, Army, police, fire departments, something Hurricane Katrina showed is needed for every kind of disaster. JAMES THOMPSON (R), FMR. 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: Are we going to send policemen and firemen in this nation into battle against evil without the ability to talk to each other? Are we crazy?

ENSOR: An F, too, for failing to build a single terrorist watch list for airlines. Remember the chilling images of Mohammed Atta making his way through airport security on September 11, 2001? The former commissioner said something like that could happen again.

TOM KEAN (R), FMR. 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: It's scandalous that airline passenger are still not screened against all names on the terrorist watch list.

ENSOR: An F, too, for failing to hand out homeland security money for states and cities most at risk.

KEAN: One city used its homeland security money for air- conditioned garbage trucks.

ENSOR: And the Bush administration got a D on its efforts to help secure nuclear materials and other weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union and around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: The former commissioners are only private citizens now. Their opinions get attention, but heavy lifting, such as getting television networks and stations to give up audio frequencies earlier, that will take public outrage, which may or may not be forthcoming -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David Ensor reporting for us.

David, thank very much.

And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.